Vampires, Wolves, and Angel
by TheWriterMaria
Summary: Since she was six, Angel has watched her family die, one by one, because of the evil minds who created them. Now, Angel is the last of her kind and, since her brother's death, she's been wandering all around, unable to harm herself despite the terrible grief she holds tightly inside of her. What happens when she meats a coven of vampires, and a pack of werewolves?
1. Prologue

Since she was six, Angel has watched her family die, one by one, because of the evil minds who created them.

Now, after six years, Angel is the last of her kind and, since her brothers been wandering all around, unable to harm herself despite the terrible grief she holds tightly inside of her.

One fateful night, she encounters the last of the Erasers, another experiment by the same scientists who created her. Angel tries at first to defend herself, but discovers that her lack of fighting for the past few years has made it impossible for her to win.

Wounded and afraid to fly and get spotted, Angel flees on foot, somehow losing the Eraser. Tired and bleeding to death, Angel somehow finds an house, a mansion, tucked away in the woods.

What she finds there is what she least expected.

**(I am using the Maximum Ride characters, but none of the books actually happened. No characters are mine; most will belong to Stephenie Meyer and James Patterson. The storyline is mine, and any similarities to any other story is a coincidence.)**

The stone of the patio was cold under her bare feet, and she slipped a few times on her own blood as she climbed the handful of stairs, but Angel pushed on until she reached the deck, where she staggered to the glass door - locked - and slumped against it, more blood smearing on the glass.

Using her...abilities...she let her consciousness wander, searching for thoughts that would tell her if anyone was home.

There was no one, and when Angel realized, she let out a half-sob and huddled against the freezing glass as a cold wind blew, cutting through her clothes and raising goosebumps on her skin.

It seemed like forever before her barely-conscious mind detected thoughts; there were five females, four males, and one with slightly animal thoughts, although there was an unmistakable tinge of human.

Panic overtook her - the thoughts of the last one was very similar to Erasers. Desperately, she tried to push herself to her feet, but she slipped on the blood pooled beneath her, and collapsed once again.

She didn't know how, but the people she'd sensed had heard her. As tired as she was, and with her trying to focus on the thoughts of twelve people/animals at once, she didn't get much of a clear message.

They became cautious, and Angel could feel their confusion. Their thoughts all took a similar route, and she was finally able to understand.

_What's that? they wondered. I/we smell blood...but it's not a human. What is it?_

Angel got the impression that all of them had advanced hearing, like she did, but that it was much better, better even than Iggy's had been.

Mustering up courage and her voice, Angel said, so softly that she herself barely heard it, "Help me."

Almost instantly, there was a presence hovering above her, and her eyes lifted to see a man who was possibly in his late twenties or early thirties, blonde and paled-skinned with golden eyes.

She shifted through his thoughts, watching his brows furrow when he felt the strange sensation in his mind it caused.

Angel's mouth opened so she could speak, but her chest heaved and she coughed, so hard her shoulders shook and her head throbbed. The man's fingers, cold as ice, touched her forehead.

"Car...lisle?" Angel asked. "That's...your name?"

After a second, the man answered, "Yes. That...in my mind...was you?"

Angel's head bobbed. "Yes. Your family is scared of me. I'm scared of them, too." Angel knew this second statement, that she'd tacked on to the end of the first, was heard by the others, lurking back in the trees.

Carlisle nodded. "You won't hurt them?"

"I...can tell what you are, from your thoughts. I couldn't hurt you if I tried, even if I wasn't in this state - " the last syllable of Angel's answer was cut off by another round of coughing. "Hey, Doc?" she asked, when it was over.

Carlisle didn't seem surprised that she knew he was a doctor. "Yes?"

"Got any experience with veterinary medicine?"


	2. Angel

_It was very dark, and Angel could not see anything._

_"Angel..." the voices called out, blending together; Iggy, Max, Fang, Nudge, Gazzy. "Angel..." they whispered._

_"Angel," Max said, by herself. "Baby, it's not time for you, yet. It's not time for you to come to us."_

_"But Max!" the girl cried out, reaching into the darkness for these phantoms she could not find. "Max, I miss you. I want to see you again. Please, take me with you!"_

_"Max is right," the next voice was her brother's. "Stay a while longer, Ange. Where you are now, a future awaits you. Live, please. Live for me. Live for all of us..."_

_The voices faded out, just as the images of her family faded in. Angel cried out again and reached for them. The five of them all smiled sadly, and waved at Angel, who was screaming for them, reaching out to grab them, only to have them disintegrate when she touched them._

_"Max! Fang! Iggy! Nudge! Gazzy!"_

_She called out to them again and again, until her voice became one, loud, wordless scream_.

"...up. Wake up, please," a soft voice begged. "Please, you're scaring me!"

Angel shot straight up in her bed, body protesting every motion. She cried out in pain, and her arm went to her side, where three deep gashes had been carved into her. She felt under the foreign clothes she was wearing that they were bandaged. Her wings were squished under the hospital dress, which was uncomfortable, but not unbearably so.

"Um...hello?" the tentative voice came again, and Angel looked to her left, where a girl - she couldn't really pinpoint her age, but a dip into her thoughts was enough - was sitting, waiting for her to look.

"Renesmee." Angel said, and the other girl's dark brown eyes brighted.

"Grandpa Carlisle was right; you can read minds, just like my father!" Renesmee enthused. Her face fell a little. "Um, well...now you know my name...so what's yours?"

"My name is Angel." the blonde replied, dipping her head in greeting. "Max -" a twinge of agony burned through her at the name, but she cleared her throat and continued. "Max named me."

Renesmee's eyes, which had already gone from excitement to curiosity, shifted to something sad. Pity. "You were...calling out for someone named Max. Also...Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy." Her eyes searched Angel's. "They're your family?"

"They...were." Angel looked away from Renesmee's sad brown eyes, out the window on the other side of the room.

Renesmee waited for an explanation, that she didn't get. "I...well, do you feel okay enough to go downstairs?"

"Will they eat me?" Angel asked, already knowing the answer. She swore she heard laughter from downstairs.

"They won't," Renesmee shook her head. "We're about the same size; I can bring you some clothes, so you don't have to wear the hospital gown."

"Please," Angel nodded, turning her head back to look at her. With speed that was slightly dizzying, Renesmee stood and zipped to the door.

"Renesmee?" Angel piped up, right before the dark haired girl was gone. "Do you...have a jacket you don't mind me ripping up? Um, and also a shirt?"

Renesmee turned back to meet her gaze, and smiled. "Sure." she nodded. "And, please, call me Nessie. Everyone does."

Ten minutes later, and Angel was into her clothes, sensing all the while Renesmee's amazement, knowing all the while that Renesmee's father - Edward - was drawing from his daughter's thoughts as she pulled on the jacket, making sure that her wings could fit through the slashes. The blonde also gathered that Edward and Carlisle were sharing nothing with the others, which was driving them insane.

Standing at the door's threshold, Angel felt scared for what felt like the millionth time in her life. "Nessie?" she asked. "Will you please hold my hand?"

A half-second later, the dark-haired girl's warm - hot - hand was in Angel's, and she was gently tugging her forward, out the door and down the stairs.

Within a minute, they were down the stairs, and Angel was surrounded by vampires. Animal hunting vampires, granted, but vampires all the same. And, Angel was part animal.

There was silence as Angel examined each person, delving into their minds. She knew that they were studingying her, and the odd shapes they could see in the clothes.

"Are you lost?" the woman with short hair - Alice - spoke first.

"No, Alice." Angel denied.

"What happened to you?" Carlisle asked. "It looked like you were...attacked by a wolf."

A Native American-looking boy in the corner looked up, lip raising in an animalistic snarl. "No one would have harmed an innocent in the woods."

"It wasn't one of your wolves, Jacob," Angel looked him in the eye. "Or one of Sam's," she added. She met Carlisle's eyes. "It was an Eraser. Probably the last of his kind, like myself."

Silence for a moment. Then, Carlisle spoke. "You're killing them with the wait. Go on, show them."

Angel met his eyes. "I suppose I should..." she mused. "It's not like it'll be the weirdest thing you guys have seen, right?"

The nods weren't encouraging, but Angel slipped her jacket off anyway, and twisted her body a bit so she could still hold Renesmee's hand, and not hit her as she stretched out her snowy-white wings, flexing her shoulders as she stretched, feathers ruffling slightly.

Emmett cussed in amazement, and Rosalie hit him, staring pointedly at both Angel and Renesmee. Angel didn't have the heart to tell the vampire blonde that she'd heard much worse before.

Alice flitted up to Angel suddenly, reaching out to stroke the soft down. "How?" she asked. "How on Earth...?"

"White coats," Angel said. "They messed with genetics, not knowing what they'd get."

"White coats," Alice's mate - Jasper - spoke up. "Soldiers?"

"Scientists." Angel corrected. "Monsters, I think of them as. As did my family. And the Erasers. And ever. other. experiment." Angel's chest heaved and fell with every word. She closed her eyes for a moment, wrapping her wings around her body in a way that allowed her to keep Renesmee's hand in hers, but made her feel solitary. "Sorry."

"Angel?" a gentle looking woman standing by Carlisle - his mate, Esme - spoke up. "Sweetheart, I know that it is probably difficult for you...but will you tell us? About...about your family? And yourself?"

Angel met her golden eyes, and saw the loving heart of a mother there. She'd seen the same look in Max's eyes, however infrequently.

"If you'll do me a favor," Angel said finally, and she couldn't bear to look in the woman's eyes after she nodded. "If it's really that bad for me to know about you, please kill me when I'm done."

The shock at her request hit her in a wave of emotions, and only Renesmee's hand in hers kept her from falling on the floor. As it was, she staggered, gasping, her wings shuddering. "Jasper!" she croaked, and his soothing influence swept through the room a second later. Angel gasped a 'thank you.'

"You're...not serious?" Esme's voice - high pitched before - was killer on Angel's sensitive ears.

"Esme..." Angel met her eyes again. "After you hear what I have to say, I think you'll understand my request." With a feeling of exhaustion falling over her, Angel eyed the soft white couch off to hers and Renesmee's right, until the young girl got the hint a moment later and led her over to it.

"Can you guys...um, sit?" Angel asked. "I mean, I know you don't have to, but the strangest thing I'm used to being around is an Eraser, and even they're more human than lupine."

Angel blinked, and they were already sitting. With a nervous laugh, Angel released Renesmee's hand, snuggling into the warmth of her own wings.

She picked some dirt and dust out of her feathers, until Alice said, "You're stalling."

"I try," Angel said, dropping her hands to her lap and looking up to meet everyone's gaze. "God knows this story needs to be told...but He knows that I never wanted to be the one who had to tell it, even more."

With a deep breath, Angel began.

I'm so sorry for my short and crappy chapter, but this is pretty much how my writing's going to be, although I hope I'll get better as I continue to write. I hope you like the story!


	3. What Happened to Me

"There is magic," Angel said. "And that is you - the Cullens and the Quileutes. And don't even argue that it's not magic," Angel interrupted Carlisle before he could speak. "You and I both know that no science can explain you guys."

Satisfied there would be no other interruption, Angel restarted. "There is magic, and then there is science. Scientists meddle with genetics, push the boundaries as far as they'll go, just to see what they can do. It is not often they successfully break the laws of Nature, but, when they do, it results in something like me. Or, an Eraser."

She let Bella voice her question aloud. "What is an Eraser?"

"At the lab I was...created in...only two experiments were successful. Those like me, whose DNA is one percent avian, and the Erasers, who were partially lupine.

"Other than the obvious bird/dog difference, the ones like me had to be meddled with before we were born. In other words, we were all test-tube babies.

The Erasers, however, were more successfully created by changing an already living child. Most of the first ones died. My," - she stuttered over the word for her family members, "friend Max, was old enough to remember back to then. Fang and Iggy were, too, but they didn't pay as much attention."

Angel faltered, and Carlisle filled the silence with a question. "Children, all of you?" he asked.

"Yes," Angel could see from their eyes that her own orbs were tortured-looking, so she looked down. "They tried the Eraser experiment on an adult once, and it was horrible, Max told me. So they turned to children; unwanted, abandoned. Some of the scientists even gave up their own children."

There was a general indignant breath, but Angel continued. "Max," she said, "was the biological daughter of one of the scientists, Jeb, and his girlfriend, Valencia. The two of them broke it off sometime after Max was born, and she left. Jeb had another child with a woman who passed away not long after the kid's birth. She lived long enough to name him Ari. When Ari was three, Jeb put him through the...procedure...that made him an Eraser. Max was otherwise occupied, but Fang remembered the screaming...and he saw Ari's first Shift, too. I've seen Erasers Shift, and it's no pleasant thing, but a first Shift is always the absolute worst."

"Three years old..." Esme murmured.

"Most of them were dead before their fifth birthday," Angel added quietly. "The Shift was too much for them. But Ari was different. He was seven before he...expired."

"Expired?" Rosalie asked. "Isn't that a little harsh?"

Angel raised and dropped her shoulders helplessly. "It's what happened." she whispered. "The scientists wanted to control everything - even their experiments' deaths." She lifted her eyes when she said, "A short time before they die, a tattoo appears on the back of their neck. A date. Their expiration date."

"Oh, God," Bella injected suddenly. "Angel, you've been talking about your family in the past tense...is that what happened to them?"

Angel closed her eyes. "Not all of them." she heard the agony in her own voice. "I suppose I should explain something, first, though. Us bird-kids, we have this thing, and it's kind of like...well, the Quileute wolves' imprinting. Max and Fang imprinted on each other. For Iggy, it was Ella, Max's half sister, Valencia's daughter. For Nudge, it was another bird-kid named Dylan. My brother, Gazzy, and I didn't imprint."

"And that's important...how?" Jacob asked.

Angel looked him in the eye. "Imagine," she said, "that Renesmee dropped dead, right now. What would you do?"

Jacob stared for a moment. Then, softly, "Find any way possible to kill myself."

"Precisely," Angel said. "Now, to Bella's question. Iggy...expired. When I was six. Ella...well, we were trying to keep an eye on her. Somehow, though, she got ahold of Max's gun, and got away from us. She killed herself."

Angel faltered again, unsure if she could go on. She closed her eyes and shivered, even in the warm embrace of her wings. Renesmee sidled up closer, and Jasper sent soothing waves her way. She took a deep breath, and thanked them both with the exhalation.

"Dylan...was killed by an Eraser. It was violent. Horrifying. He and Nudge were out, gathering firewood." Angel took another breath. "The Eraser would have killed Nudge straight up, but it enjoyed torturing her. He'd ripped off both her wings by the time the rest of us got there. That day was the only time I'd ever been scared of Fang; he fell on the Eraser like an avenging angel from Hell - killed him within about two heartbeats. In the end, we couldn't help Nudge; she bled to death."

"Max," Angel choked. "Max was like a mother to all of us but Fang. She was the leader, our rock. She had interesting abilities; she flew at at least 200 miles per hour when she wasn't focused, 300 if she was. And she had gills. That was an odd one, avian genes considered," Angel smiled, but the expression soon faltered.

"Fang was an odd one, too. He was absolutely silent when he moved, and quick, too. Like you guys. Maybe not as fast, but nearly." Another smile that faded away as quickly as it had come.

"Their expiration date was the same; within two minutes of Fang's death, Max was gone, too. It happened less than two months after Nudge and Dylan. I was eight." Angel couldn't meet their eyes again.

"And...Gazzy?" Jasper ventured.

"Gazzy and I..." Angel said. "We were the only surviving pair of siblings; he was two years older than me. He expired less than a year ago. I...I'm all that's left, not only of my family, but of all the bird-kids. And, almost, all the experiments from where I was created. The Eraser I met in the forest, who - " she touched her side, "did this...I could see it in his eyes that he was alone. And desperate. The scientists had a pretty sick sense of humor; the main function of an Eraser was to find and kill bird-kids. Without bird-kids to kill, they go crazy."

The anger was back in her voice when she said, with finality, "Would have served him right to be all alone."

"Why are you telling us this?" Edward asked. "I mean, a coven of vampires, a shape shifter, and a half-human half-vampire hybrid?"

Angel shrugged again. "I see it in your thoughts; normal people aren't supposed to know about vampires. I figure that you'll have to get rid of me. Not that I begrudge you for it or anything; you've heard my story, and can guess that I would embrace Death like a friend."

"Don't be morbid," Renesmee protested, trying to put her arms around Angel, but failing because of the wings that were obstructing her path.

Angel stretched her right wing out, wrapping it around Renesmee, so the girl could embrace her. The blonde shivered when Renesmee's fingers touched her face, and images flashed past her eyes. She'd known about her new friend's ability, but it didn't make it less strange to experience first hand.

In her mind, she saw herself, wings spread, standing in the backyard, muscles tensed as if she were about to start running. There was a question swirling around the image.

"Nessie," Edward chided. "She's still injured."

"What happened?" Emmett asked.

"Rene - Nessie," Angel corrected herself. "Nessie asked me if I would fly." She listened in to Carlisle's thoughts a moment. "Doc thinks it's okay," she added, directing this statement to Edward.

Renesmee's eyes brightened. "Will you, will you?" she begged aloud.

Angel shrugged for the third time. "I don't see why not. Let's go."

Standing outside, Angel sighed softly as the gentle breeze ruffled her feathers. "It feels so nice..." she said, mostly to herself.

Knowing that there were ten pairs of eyes behind her, waiting - and, also, one in the woods. Delving slightly into their thoughts, she found that it was a girl, part of Jacob's pack. Leah. - Angel, took a breath, and a half step back.

With two running steps, her wings caught the breeze, and she brought them down once, enough to lift her into the air. Her breath caught in her throat as she shot straight up, powerful muscles bringing her closer to the blue sky that she loved. In the air, she felt close to the others.

Renesmee's thoughts, Angel found, were elated. Watching herself fly from someone else's point of view was strange, and Angel put more focus on her flying a second later, leveling out.

She'd also heard a silent request for tricks from Jacob, and she grinned to herself as she danced in the air, twirling and doing loops. Once, just to scare the crap out of all her spectators, she flew upside down, pulling her wings in suddenly so she fell towards the ground.

She sensed Carlisle and Edward starting to crouch to jump up, and she flipped over, throwing out her wings and catching herself. As she swooped over the trees, her belly brushed their leafy tops.

A sudden mind caught her attention; it was another wolf, in the woods with Leah. Angel had to land, and she had to land now.

She stumbled a little as she touched down, right at the tree line, but didn't hesitate before she whipped around, meeting the eyes of an enormous sandy-brown wolf; his shoulder was even with her head.

The instant their gazes locked, Angel's world shifted.

Seth.

I'm rather proud of this chapter.


	4. Imprint

"Oh, no!" Leah screamed, pacing back and forth - buck naked, but Angel knew from the furious thoughts being sent her way that nudity was very low on the elder girl's list of concerns right now - in the Cullens backyard, where Jacob was trying unsuccessfully to calm her.

"It's involuntary," he reminded her. "Come on, L, you've seen it in my thoughts, and...the others." Angel heard him stumble over the name 'Sam' in his thoughts.

"I. Don't. Care." Leah snarled. "He is my little brother and I will not allow it. I got enough of this crap being in Sam's pack, but I will not," - she dropped her voice, so I couldn't hear, but I knew the Cullens could, and I simply read in out of their minds. - "I will not be abandoned again."

Nessie shot up from where she was sitting, in the Cullen's living room, tears pricking her eyes and anger pricking her mind.

Angel had already been feeling achingly lonely - empty - since Leah had sent Seth back to La Push, nearly attacking him to get him to go, and had been trembling slightly ever since. Now she was full on shaking, as she watched Nessie storm out of the house.

Angel jumped up to follow, so close that her hand Nessie's.

As the little brunette stormed up to Leah, Angel thought her new friend looked rather like an avenging angel, eyes shining with something dangerous.

Jacob edged closer to Nessie as he eyes Leah's face, which shone with anger. Angel grabbed Nessie's wrist, to hold her back. The blonde could sense all of the Cullens on edge, as well, not ready to stand back and let Nessie get attacked.

"You can't keep them away, from each other" the little girl said, sounded furious. "I won't allow it. If I won't, neither will Jacob, Mommy, Daddy, Aunts Rosalie and Alice, Uncles Jasper and Emmett, Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme won't. Eight vampires, one half-vampire, and a wolf against a solitary wolf? Your chances aren't great."

Leah snarled, and was met with the snarls of all of Nessie's family in response, which made her hesitate. After she deliberated for a moment, Angel's eyes lit up in victory a few seconds before Leah opened her mouth and spat, "Whatever."

With that, she turned around, shifting into a slate gray wolf and leaping into the forest. Jacob shifted and followed after her, all the while calling to Sam to send Seth back to the Cullen's.

Angel was so excited that she dashed into the forest after Jacob. After barely two strides, Nessie was running beside her.

Now, Angel could run faster than the average human, but she realized rather quickly that she'd never win a race against Nessie, much less one of her full-vampire relatives.

Undeterred, Angel kept running, picking up her pace until she was at top speed, This was more exhausting for her, but now she could actually give Nessie a bit of a challenge.

"Jacob told Seth to go the the baseball meadow," Angel called to her friend, who was slightly ahead of her. "Where is that?"

"Follow me!" Nessie replied, veering off slightly to the left. Angel followed, crashing through the underbrush noisily, but not particularly caring.

Soon, she could feel Seth's thoughts coming towards her, more clearly than she had ever heard thoughts before. He must have been moving faster than them - probably he had been - because his thoughts became more human suddenly as he reached the field.

Angel could feel his relief at getting there first; apparently he'd wanted to make sure he'd gotten there in time to pull on a pair of shorts.

Angel could see the brighter light coming from the trees up ahead that told her they were close to the clearing. Her lungs ached, her legs burned, and her heart was going a million miles an hour, but all she wanted was to get through the trees.

Nessie slowed and moved aside right at the edge of the trees, so Angel burst into the clearing by herself and slid to stop after a few strides, staring quietly at the boy standing about ten feet in front of her.

His dark hair was cut short, but had grown out in length so that it was starting to look shaggy. His darker, tanned skin reflected his heritage and athleticism. He was not much shorter than Jacob, but was much thinner; Jacob wasn't fat, just thickly muscled, whereas Seth was more lean.

Angel's blue eyes met his chocolatey brown ones for the second time, and Angel had an overwhelming feeling of 'I'm home.' Of course, she was home. Home was where the people she loved was.

After such a short time, Angel felt like Nessie was a beloved younger sister, and she was growing quickly on Alice and Jasper - they had such interesting minds that she was more drawn to them than any other of the full-vampires in the Cullen home.

Now, too, she had Seth - her soulmate.

Angel started to cry.

Seth was incredulous; never in his life did he think he was going to imprint on anyone, and now here he was, staring at his soulmate.

She was a few years younger than him, perhaps around thirteen. He'd heard Jake and Quil talk about being whatever Nessie and Claire - respectively - needed, be it brother, friend, or confidant until they were old enough to be lovers.

A small part of him basked in the knowledge that he would not have to wait long until she, too, was sixteen.

And she would be quite the looker in a few years - not that she wasn't pretty now. Her long blonde hair hung pretty far past her shoulders, and had natural highlights from the sun. Her skin wasn't tan, exactly, but it wasn't pale, either. From what he'd heard in Jacob's thoughts, she'd probably lived outside most of her life.

What captured him most about this girl was her eyes - they were a vibrant blue, like the sky on a clear day. They were large, which gave her a doe look.

Seth was so caught up in staring that it took him a minute after she started to realize that Angel was crying. In two seconds flat he was by her side, hand on her shoulder.

"Ange?" he asked. "Angel, what's wrong?"

She turned to him and buried her face his chest. "Home," she sobbed. "I...I'm finally home!"

With a small smile, Seth put on arm around her shoulders, and stroked her hair with his other hand. "You took a little long, didn't you?"

His only response was another wave of happy tears.

In the trees, Nessie smiled.

"So, favorite color?" Seth questioned, leaning against the trunk of the tree that he and Angel were currently sitting in.

He'd seen Angel flying in Jake's mind, but he still had his breath taken away when she'd suggested they sit in a large pine tree and then flown up to a branch perhaps twenty feet off the ground.

Looking into his eyes, Angel smiled. "Chocolate brown. Yours is blue."

"I still can't get over that you read minds," Seth shook his head. "Edward's the only one I've known that can do that, but he's a supernatural creature."

"Science is pretty amazing," Angel shrugged. "Nudge was telekinetic - although, the only thing she could move was metal. Iggy's hearing was crazy; it was almost as good as the Cullens'. Dylan was strong, Gaz was a whiz with computers."

"And you? What else can you do?" Seth asked.

"Well, I can influence people. Humans, anyway; I haven't tried it out on the Cullens or the packs yet. So, like, when I was six, Max took me into a toy store and I influenced a woman into buying me a really expensive toy. Max thought it was pretty hilarious, but Fang threatened me and told me not to do it again." Angel smiled a bit.

"Also, I've been working on something similar to Nessie's gift, but also as widespread as Jasper's gift. I want to be able to transmit thoughts and images into people's minds without having to come into contact with them. I think I'll be able to, with practice."

Seth shook his head again. "I've definitely got the most talented soulmate." he said. "I mean, a half-vampire is cool and all, Jake," - he knew as well as I that people were eavesdropping - "but Angel is something else."

Angel let her mind wander as Seth and Jacob argued back and forth, until her mind caught a conversation between Carlisle, Edward, Alice and Jasper. They were far enough away and speaking so quietly that their family didn't hear them, but as soon as I'd latched onto their thoughts, it was as if they were shouting.

_"What are we going to do if she...expires?" Carlisle wondered._

_"I don't know," Edward replied. "I can't imagine what it would do to Seth and, by association, the packs. It would be agonizing for him."_

_"We could always Change her if we had to." Jasper suggested. "I mean, I don't know if it would work, but it would be worth a shot."_

_"Definitely." Carlisle murmured. "I'm sure Seth would agree with us in a second."_

_"I'm just afraid it won't work," Alice sighed. "I can't see her future, Edward can't read her mind. She might be more like the wolves than us. In that case, our venom could be poison."_

_A moment of silence in all their thoughts ensued._

_"We'll need to put her in school," Edward said finally, changing the subject. "With a jacket, her wings could be easily hidden."_

_"She's incredibly smart," Jasper mused. "You can tell it just from listening. I'm sure we'd be able to put her in school as freshman."_

_"Do you think she'd agreed to go to school?" Carlisle asked._

_"I don't know." Edward admitted. "If she doesn't, we all know enough to teach her from here."_

_They all mumbled something like an agreement._

"Angel?" Seth asked. "You zoned out on me."

The blonde blinked and refocused her eyes on Seth. "Sorry," she giggled. "Just lost in thought."

She could sense Jasper, Edward, and Carlisle coming close.

"Do you know if I could somehow enrol in school?" she asked, and she heard the surprise in the three men's mind, then the understanding in Edward's when he realized she'd been listening in.

"Surely," Carlisle called up, from the ground. "Sorry for eavesdropping, you two. Why don't you come down and eat? Esme made dinner."

"Coming!" Angel called back. She waited until all of them had gone into the house before she met Seth's eyes again, hearing his thoughts.

"I don't really want to go to college," she told him. "I think high school will be enough for me; I'm not really a normal-people person. So, yes, we have forever together, here in Forks. Or La Push. Hopefully both."

"Forever," Seth agreed somewhat shyly, scooting forward on the branch before pushing off completely and landing on the ground with a muffled 'thump.'

As Angel spread her wings to help her float down to the ground, her smile became a little sad.

_Forever_. she thought. _Or, at least until I die._


	5. Sixteen

**Three Years Later**

**(Just so everyone knows, Seth was fifteen-almost-sixteen at the beginning, and Angel was twelve-almost-thirteen. Since this is Angel's sixteenth birthday, Seth is eighteen-almost-nineteen.)**

* * *

"Alice, I really don't want a party!" Angel whined, as her adoptive mother twirled around the room, arranging flowers.

"There's no use in trying to stop her," Jasper, her 'father' said sympathetically. "Alice can't resist a good party, especially with everyone who's going to be coming over."

"I don't even know half the people on the guest list!" Angel wailed.

"Who is coming?" Nessie, in front of Edward's piano, asked.

"You'll remember them, Nessie," Alice said. "Benjamin, Tia, Siobhan, Liam, Maggie, Zafrina, Senan, Kaichiri, and all five Denalis."

"Five?" Nessie asked, and she seemed to be counting in her head. Angel knew for a fact when she was, and understood the same time her friend did. "Oh, that's right! Garrett and Kate ran off to get married so Aunt Alice wouldn't make a big deal of it!"

"Precisely," Jasper said, as Alice pouted for exactly two seconds.

Nessie grinned at Jasper. "My question," she said, again to Alice. "Is why we're inviting all of these vampires; they don't even know Angel."

"Well, they know you, and miss you," Alice sighed. "Plus, it wouldn't hurt for them to meet Angel, since she'll be around if they come visiting in the next few decades."

Angel grumbled a little more, as the rest of the Cullens - who'd been out hunting - returned. Instantly, she used the exact ability she'd explained to Seth a few years ago to show Carlisle the conversation that had just taken place, even though he'd heard the very end of it.

"There's no way to get Alice not to throw a party," Carlisle quickly echoed Jasper.

Angel showed him a picture of Charlie, Sue, and their two year old daughter - Bella freaked when she found out that her father was remarrying and she was going to have a sibling eighteen years younger than her - Lyn.

"Of course Charlie and his family can't come," Edward saw the images in Carlisle's mind. "We're going to be having human-hunting vampires over. But perhaps Charlie, Sue, and Lyn will want to come over after our guests leave."

Angel pouted, and Nessie laughed. "Oh, go fly off all that anger. I know you've been upset being trapped in here all day."

Angel smiled. "Wanna come with me? Promise I won't drop you this time."

"I think I'll pass," Nessie shook her head. "I don't want Mom, Dad, or Jacob getting upset with you like that again. You nearly started a Civil War! Sorry for the reference, Uncle Jasper."

"It was an accurate description." Jasper shrugged.

Angel reflected on this.

Not long after she'd arrived in Forks, she'd been officially adopted by Alice and Jasper. The three of them and Seth had all bonded quickly, and were much like the little family that was Edward, Bella, Jacob, and Nessie besides the fact that Angel was mostly human.

About a year after that, Angel had offered to take Nessie up flying with her. She hadn't bargained for the girl being so sturdy, or the weakness in her arms, and she'd dropped Nessie, who'd twisted her ankle.

When she landed, she thought that Edward, Bella, and Jacob were going to rip her head off. Luckily, she had Alice, Jasper, and Seth, who all planted themselves in front of her.

Emmett felt sorry for Angel, so he was on her side, but Rosalie was like a second - or third, depending on who you talked to - mother to Nessie, and stuck with the little brunette.

Carlisle and Esme had spent a good three hours trying to restore the peace, and Angel was so upset about the trouble she'd caused she flew almost to Canada before Jasper and Seth caught up to her and persuaded her home.

Angel forced herself back to present day. "Perhaps it isn't the best idea," she agreed. "I'll see you guys later. Don't overdo yourself Alice."

"No promises!"

Angel sighed happily once she was up in the air. Spring had just arrived, and the air was starting to warm up. Plus, it had recently rained, so the soil smelled amazing. The sun was even peeking out, effectively keeping the Cullens inside.

She had a small glimmer of hope that the sun would stay out until after tomorrow, so the vampires Alice had invited wouldn't be able to get here, but that hope was quickly squashed - the sun never stayed out that long in Washington, and if it did, Alice would just hold the party a day or so later than planned.

Angel pushed that out of her mind and did what she'd wanted to all day - she flew.

The years that were beginning to dull the pain of losing her first family did not keep Angel from remembering them. In the cold air, flying at top speed, she felt closer than ever to them all.

She almost felt Nudge's feathers brushing against hers jokingly in mid-air, hear Ella laugh in excitement every time Iggy and Gazzy brought her up with us, and see Max, Dylan, and Fang racing, with Max always winning by a long shot.

Angel was brought out of her reverie when she heard Seth's question in her mind.

Come to the baseball field? I've got a picnic and a birthday present for you.

With a smile, Angel slowed and looked at the trees. In between them, she could see the sandy-colored wolf that was Seth. She sent him an image of her flying in the suggested direction, turning as she did so.

Ten minutes later, when she landed, the blonde found Seth already waiting for her in the middle of the field. He even had the blanket set out, piled with food I was sure Sue had made for him. In the middle of the blanket sat a little box, wrapped up in sky blue paper.

"I'll never understand how you boys move so fast," Angel sighed, reaching out to hug him as he jumped up. "Or the Cullens," she added, closing her eyes in appreciation when he kissed her forehead.

"All in the genes," Seth grinned, pulling her over to the blanket and waiting for her to take her seat before he sat back down. "Potatoes?"

"You know it,"

"Man, your mom really can cook," Angel sighed, setting aside her plate and watching with amusement as Seth wolfed down food. Angel had had had two normal-human portions, and Seth had gladly finished up the rest.

After he swallowed - Seth had learned quickly that Angel loathed people who talked with their mouths full - Seth said, "She really can. Charlie and Lyn are very lucky."

Seth was quiet as he finished eating the mound of food. All the while, Angel was staring quietly at the little box in the middle of the blanket.

A sudden peek into Seth's thoughts revealed that he was eating slowly on purpose. When Angel's head shot up and she glared at him suspiciously, Seth put down his plate, swallowed, and laughed.

"So you caught on?" he asked.

"I'm not stupid," Angel pouted.

"You just want your present." he pointed out.

"Is that a crime?" she wondered aloud.

"Nope," Seth shook his head, and laughed. "It's you up, down, and backwards." With a movement her eyes missed, Seth picked up the package and tossed it to her lightly, so the box landed neatly in her lap.

Angel flashed a smile at Seth before tearing the paper open to reveal a small box. Just to mess with him, Angel slowly unwrinkled the paper and folded it up, as if for future use, and took her time placing it in the picnic basket where it wouldn't be squashed.

"Okay, okay!" Seth put his hands up. "I'm sorry I took so long eating on purpose! Please, please open it up because I've been trying really hard not to think about it and its starting to give me a headache!"

Angel stuck her tongue out at him, and opened the box. For a moment, she was speechless. "Oh," she gasped, after a moment. "It's like Nessie's!"

"Well, every promise bracelet is different," Seth sounded relieved that she seemed to like it, but also nervous when he added, "I know it took me a while to get you one; I kept starting over."

_( 008/0/6843396/il_570xN.380242869_ )_

"Shh." Angel held up her and, fingers on his lips. When she looked up from the box, her eyes were shining with tears. "Thank you!"

Abruptly, the blonde threw herself at Seth, arms around his neck and one hand still clutching the bracelet in its box. With a slow smile, Seth wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.

"Of course," he said softly. "Now, if you'll stop suffocating me, we'll get your bracelet on and you back to the house so Alice has enough time to get you ready for your party."

"I don't wanna be beautified," Angel pouted, moving back to sit down, and allowing Seth to tie the bracelet around her wrist.

"I didn't say beautified," Seth kissed her temple. "I said 'ready.' You're already beautiful, and Alice knows it."

Angel blushed. "How'd you go from an awkward fifteen year old boy to a suave adult?" she demanded. "Seriously."

"They say a good girl changes a guy," he quipped. "Seriously, though, Ange, we gotta head back to the Cullens' place. Alice told me four o'clock, no later, and it's three forty five."

Angel cringed. "Oh god. I guess I'm going to be leaving you behind; there's no way we'll be able to walk there in time."

"I could carry you," Seth suggested.

"And have Emmett tease me to no end? No thanks," Angel stood up, then stooped down to kiss the side of Seth's face. "You'll be at the party, right?"

"Right,"

"Good," Angel nodded, and spread her wings. "I'll see you at five."

"It's a date."

"More like a party," Angel sighed, and took off, followed by the beautiful sound that was Seth's laughter.


	6. Party

**Angel POV**

"You made it by the down of your feathers," Alice commented, as I swooped in the large window the Cullens had started to leave open just for this purpose, landing on the top stair right in front of Alice.

"Does that make sense?" I questioned, as I followed her into her bathroom without argument. "Couldn't you have just said 'by the skin of your teeth.'"

"Your teeth doesn't have skin, but your feathers have down." Alice shrugged. Gesturing at the chair in front of the large mirror, she commanded, "Sit."

I nervously eyed all the makeup paraphernalia scattered across the counter-top. "Alice, it's just a sixteenth birthday party," I reminded her. "I'm not getting married or anything."

"Haven't you ever heard of a sweet sixteen? That's what this is. After our vampire guests leave, you can have your party with all your human friends and do your makeup the way you want it. For now, though, you play by my rules." Alice zipped out of the room and returned in about a second flat, carrying a dress-bag.

"When did you buy me a dress?" I questioned. "I thought I was wearing my blue dress that Gina and I bought when we went to Seattle."

Alice snorted. "I know that you and Gina are close, but the child has no fashion sense, and neither do you. You're wearing what I want you to wear."

I grumbled under my breath. "Is nothing about my birthday party what I want it to be?"

"Absolutely not," - the sudden voice from the door made me jump. - "It's best to just go with what Alice says and not question it."

"Hello, Bella," I said, once my heart rate calmed down. "I forgot that Alice did your makeup and everything for your's and Edward's wedding."

Bella flashed her teeth at me in a grin. "I was just as nervous as you. But it pays off, when your soulmate sees you."

"Truthfully? I'm more afraid about the dress than the makeup." I admitted, shooting a pointed look at the dress bag while Alice delicately pulled back my hair so she could scrub my face.

Bella cocked her head as if she were listening to something. Alice rolled her eyes, and I heard in her thoughts that Bella had been listening to Jasper.

"Jasper says that he helped Alice pick out the dress, so it's not too bad," Bella told me, even though she had to know by now that I already knew.

"I am probably the only girl in the world happy to have a father-figure who's as conservative as people were during the Civil War." Angel muttered. Her comment was met by the bell-sound of laughter from every vampire in the house, and Jacob's throaty chuckle.

"Shoo," Alice told Bella. "Unless you're going to help do her makeup."

Bella shook her head. "I'm no good at stuff like this yet. But I'll make sure that as soon as Rosalie and Emmett get back I'll send her up here to do Angel's hair."

"Thank you!" Alice trilled, approaching me with a soapy rag in her hand. Bella looked at me sympathetically for a moment before vanishing.

With I sigh, I close my eyes. "Don't scrub my skin off, Mom."

"Don't back talk, daughter."

"Touche."

"There," Alice set down whatever makeup brush she had been holding onto the counter, scrutinizing my face for a moment, before smiling. "Beautiful."

"She always was," Jasper was leaning against the doorframe, and I grinned at him when I turned to look at him.

"Thanks, Pa," she teased, and he rolled his eyes.

"Rose and Em are back," Jasper informed Alice, over my head. "Rose should be up - "

"I'm here," the blonde announced, stepping around Jasper.

"Right about now," Jasper finished. "Just so you know, it's five. Everyone should be getting here in about half an hour."

"We'll get it done, we'll get it done," Alice said. "Go."

After he left, I dozed off a bit while Rosalie and Alice softly argued over and fixed my hair, their cool, gentle fingers combing through it before braiding it. After a while, I lost track of what they were doing.

When Alice announced, "Done!" I nearly jumped out of my seat in surprise, a feeling that was magnified when I looked in the mirror.

"I'm not getting married!" I cried in exasperation. "This is a wedding updo, for my sixteenth birthday!"

( . )

Rosalie would never be able to speak quietly enough so I could hear and Alice couldn't, but she whispered in my ear anyway. "Sorry," she said. "I tried to push for something more simple, but you know Alice. She's...over-the-top."

"Exactly," Alice had danced across the room to grab the dress bag. "Unfortunately, I didn't get my way on the dress, but Jasper's been with me so long my fashion sense has rubbed off on him, and the dress is acceptable."

With a flourish, she unzipped the bag, revealing a beautiful dress. It was what Alice would call mint-colored, but I would call sky blue, so very similar to my eyes. It was a little longer in the back than the front, and had a modest neckline

. ( _ )

With a gasp, I said, "Wow, Jazz. I didn't know you could pick out dresses."

This was met by a snort from downstairs, and I tuned into the thoughts below to find that I'd been so occupied I hadn't noticed that Seth had arrived.

Joy exploded in me as I thought that Seth was going to get to see me all made up by Alice's expert hand in this beautiful dress, and I heard Jasper laugh when he felt this change in emotion.

I tapped into Alice's thoughts to borrow her hearing, and found that Jasper had said to Seth, "She's happy to see you. Actually, happy isn't strong enough of a word."

"Jasper!" I cried in indignation down the stairs. "Shh!"

"Enough messing around," Alice shook her head. "Come on, Ange, get up and put on the dress. We have fifteen minutes before guests start arriving."

"What about my wings?" I asked.

"You won't need to hide them," Nessie had drifted upstairs to see my dress, even though I'd sent her a mental picture of it already. "We're vampires, after all. Not much is strange to us." With a small smile, she disappeared back downstairs.

After I'd stepped into the dress and while Alice was pulling up the zipper, I asked suddenly, "Decorations?"

"They've got it covered," she replied, and I took it that 'they' was the rest of her family and Jacob.

"Should I be scared?" I asked Rosalie.

With a glint of her dazzling white teeth, the blonde replied, "Terrified."

When I got downstairs, I saw what Rosalie had meant, and I groaned out loud.

The white walls were strung with streamers all around, a table was set up with a white tablecloth, and presents wrapped in every color of the rainbow were stacked there.

("I said no presents!" I objected. "You're really like Bella," Edward replied. "She hates presents and parties too." "Still do," Bella piped up from across the room.)

All the furniture was pushed against the walls, leaving an enormous space in the middle of the room where I assumed all of the assorted vampires would be standing around.

The very last thing I noticed was also on the present table, and I wandered over to take a look, only to find that it was a small cake, with 'Happy Birthday!' on it.

"What are Jake and Seth supposed to eat?" I questioned, still studying the cake. "I mean, Ness and I can split the cake, but there's no other food."

"We're going to eat at Mom's afterwards." Seth said. "We thought - "

"Sure, I'll come with you," I answered his question before it was fully formed, straightening up and turning to the group with a smile.

Assured that I liked everything and wouldn't complain much more, the vampires drifted into small groups, murmuring, while I stood beside Seth, his arm around my waist and my head leaning against his arm.

All of a sudden, everyone with their super scary hearing - ahem, everyone but me - turned their attention to the front door. Carlisle pulled away from Esme and Emmett to stand by the door.

"Who?" I asked Alice. I could sense their thoughts coming close - it was five people - but I couldn't really tell who it was from the distance they were at.

"Denalis," Alice replied, and I peered into her thoughts for a moment.

Tanya, Kate, Garrett, Carmen, Eleazer...and one, now dead and gone - Irina. I shuddered and pulled out of her thoughts. I never liked to see the conflict with the Volturi, that happened just barely a week before I arrived in Forks.

The thoughts grew suddenly sharper when I was able to detect the soft sound of car tires on gravel. The car stopped just outside of the house, and I held myself back from reading the thoughts sure to be lurking in the five people I knew were outside.

If you didn't know what was going on, my mind-reading created a creepy crawly feeling that nobody liked.

A gentle - yet sudden - knock made me jump. Seth chuckled quietly, pulling me back to his side and kissed the top of my head. "It's fine," he told her.

"I know, I was just startled," I told him. Even as I said this, I turned my body enough that I could get my arm around his waist, holding onto him like a small child would a parent. Even though I was used to the Cullens, didn't mean I wasn't still nervous around the supernatural.

Carlisle - and probably all five vampires outside - had heard our little exchange, and turned to grin at us briefly before opening the door.

"Ready to meet the family?" he asked.

From outside, a voice retorted, "Ready or not, here we come!"

I was surprised how fast I liked all five Denalis. Carmen and Eleazar welcomed me with open arms, the former rushing across the room to sweep me into a hug. Seth was afraid she'd crush me, but the embrace was almost exactly like one of an enthusiastic human - except Carmen's skin was ice.

Kate grinned at me, but didn't hug me, probably because of the 'shocking' gift that she had just barely managed to control so as not to hurt her mate, Garrett, whose amber eyes sparkled with boyish mischief when he greeted me.

I met Tanya, who I thought had taken over the mother role of the group, last, and she gave me a small, sad smile. I didn't even have to read her thoughts to know why - Not only was she the only single Denali, but she had no one to really turn to to help her get over the death of her sister, Irina.

It was exactly the way I'd felt, roaming after the deaths of my family. I gave Tanya the biggest smile I could manage, and reached my arms out as an offer for a hug, which she accepted with some surprise.

Not long after the Denali's arrival came Benjamin and his mate Tia, then the Irish coven, and, finally, the Amazons, who frightened me quite a bit at first.

All the vampires were puzzled but polite when they met me.

Zafrina and Eleazar were more than excited to see and examine my wings.

I would have demonstrated flight, except I was wearing a dress, and Seth nearly ripped Eleazar's head off when the Denali claimed no one would look up my dress while I flew.

"Interesting," Eleazar's eyes sparkled with discovery. "He's imprinted on her, right? Fascinating, this imprinting business."

"And the wings," Zafrina said, in heavily accented English. "Created by human scientists, no less...I cannot imagine how difficult the first experiments were."

"They failed, badly" I told her softly. "I always heard the white coats talk about it." Seth wound his arm around my waist comfortingly.

"Ah, yes..." Eleazer said uncomfortably. "Um, Carlisle mentioned something about...your abilities?"

"I can read minds, like Edward," I nodded to said person, who was across the room talking with Tanya and Bella. "Except, I can see memories, too. I can also show memories, and it's much like Zafrina's gift, except the people I show the memories to keep their senses. And, I've been working on something..."

"What?" Eleazer sounded thrilled with the notion.

"Well, it's easier to show..." I murmured. My eyes wandered over the guests until they rested on Nessie. I sent her a quick memory of me apologizing to Max, a silent apology for her, which made her look up in confusion.

A half second later, Nessie's eyes unfocused. Moving like a robot, she stood up, picked up a glass off the table, and walked over to the couch. I meant for her to set it on the couch, but miscalculated, and the glass hit the floor, shattering on impact.

Her eyes refocused, and she looked to the broken glass at her feet, bemused.

Eleazar, who'd been watching Nessie with surprise, whipped his head around to look at me. "You did that?" he demanded.

"Yes," I replied. "It's like I can sort of bend someone's will, make them think they're doing what they want, when it's really what I want."

Peering around his shoulder, I said, "Sorry, Ness. As far as I know, I can't use it on vampires or shape shifters. Just humans or partial-humans."

Nessie squinted at me over her shoulder. "Is that why Mr. Williamson gave a two week extension on that project you had to do?"

I coughed in embarrassment, avoiding the question.

"You did what?" Jasper asked flatly.

"Thank you so much, Ness." I slipped behind Seth. "You made my dad mad."

Laughing, Alice whirled in front of Jasper. "Enough of that," she said. "Presents!"


	7. The Peace is Broken

**Angel POV**

"I'm really very sorry we brought no present," Carmen fretted, touching my shoulder gently. "Carlisle was very cryptic when he asked us to visit."

"Oh, it's perfectly fine!" I shook my head vehemently, some of my hair coming out of it's place and falling to frame my face. "Seriously, I told the Cullens themselves that I didn't want any presents!" With a sigh, I added, "They never listen."

Carmen laughed. "Oh, don't I know it! Well, there will be other birthdays, more holidays." She pulled me into another hug, then flitted to the door to join the rest of the Denalis, the last vampires to leave Forks.

Tanya smiled warmly at me, then at the rest of the vampires and even Jacob and Seth. "Farewell, Family." she said. "We shall visit soon."

As soon as they were gone, and the sound of tires pulled away from the house, I flopped onto a couch and covered my face with my hands with a sigh, my wings wrapping around me like a blanket.

"What time is it?" I asked Seth, who'd settled down beside me.

"A little past one," he replied softly, touching my wing. Knowing what he wanted, I opened it up and let him pull me to him. My wing went around him, and we sat much like Nessie and I had my first night with the Cullens.

"I told you we should have made them leave earlier," Jasper sighed, probably in Alice's direction, and even though the couch didn't dip in the slightest, I know he'd sat down on the couch on my other side.

"Well, it would have been rude," Alice said. I peeked through my fingers to see her kneel down in front of me, resting her elbows on my knees and her head on her hands. "Sorry, though," she added.

"Mm," I mumbled, leaning my head against Seth's shoulder. After a moment - or what seemed like a moment; in actuality, I dozed off - Seth said something in my ear about Alice taking me up to my room. I pulled in my wings and allowed myself to be carried for the first time since I was a child.

When I woke up late the next morning, I found Nessie was already up, and reading one of my new books beside my bed. She had to know I was awake, but she didn't say anything as I examined the pile of gifts I hadn't asked for.

The books - a mix between science and non fiction - were from Carlisle and Esme. From Alice and Jasper, I'd gotten clothes - her idea - and a locket with a picture of all of the Cullens, myself, Seth, and Jake in it - his idea.

From the rest, my first car waited downstairs in the garage. A car!

"They're out hunting?" I finally asked.

Nessie closed the book with a snap before looking at me and answering, "Yep! We'll have the house mostly to ourselves today. Want to go to La Push to see Jake and Seth?"

"You just want to ride in my car," I accused her.

"Duh!" she rolled her eyes. "I know I'm more mature than I look, but I only look fourteen! Ugh, it'll be at least four more years until I'm fully matured."

I had been grinning at her, but now my smile faded. "Yeah...four more years and you stop aging forever. It's gonna be so strange, for me, to be older than my 'parents' in two years. If I don't..."

Nessie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. We discussed my possible expiration a lot when I first got here, but as I got older, the reality got more and more frightening until we stopped talking about it altogether.

"You won't," Nessie said, though she sounded unsure. "And, I mean, even if you were going to...don't you think venom could stop it?"

I shrugged. "Who knows. Anyway, let's stop talking about it. I'll shower and be downstairs in a few minutes."

Nessie stood. "Okay. I'm going to scramble some eggs and make toast."

"Sounds delicious,"

Thirty minutes later, and we were on the road to La Push in my brand new, silver, Porsche 918 Spyder.

"Wow, I hope I get a car like this one day!" Nessie sighed, stroking the leather seat.

"You can take this one when your parents think you're old enough," Angel sighed. "Seriously, all I wanted is a car that worked. A used car. But no."

"Well, it is my family we're talking about here," Nessie shrugged.

I just grumbled.

"Man, you got such a nice car..." Jacob said, in greeting.

If I remembered correctly, Seth and Jacob had been the most excited about my new car. Jacob had even looked jealous when he realized that Seth had second dibs on my car, only after me.

I didn't have the heart to crush him even further by telling him Seth would probably put the most miles on the car. I did tell him, however, that I planned to one day give the car to Nessie, which put him closer to the driver's seat.

After this, Ness and I stood off to the side while the two of them obsessed over the car. She made a big show of checking her watch now and again, but they were too engrossed in what they were doing to pay attention.

Finally, I threw my hands in the air. "You two, go for a drive already! We didn't come all the way to La Push to be ignored by our boyfriends! Shoo, and hurry back so we can hang out, like Ness and I actually planned!"

"Sorry, Ange," Seth looked apologetic, but right after he'd kissed me shyly he was in the passenger's seat of the car. Jacob wasn't allowed to kiss Nessie yet - pretty much all the Cullens had threatened death - but he gave her a big hug before hopping into the car beside Seth.

And, like that, the two were gone in a puff of dust.

After a quick drive - ahem, an hour - Jacob and Seth returned, and we headed down to the beach, followed by Embry and the girl he imprinted on, Mica, Quil, five year old Claire, Paul, and Rachel.

On the beach, we all separated into four pairs to spend what time we could together. Claire and Quil skipped rocks, Embry taught Mica - an African American girl who'd lived in a desert in New Mexico her entire life and had never seen the ocean - to swim, Paul and Rachel hiked a short way up the cliff to have a picnic, and Seth and I built a sandcastle.

"You know, I've never tried this," I said, watching my side of the castle finally slump into the sand. I leaned back on my haunches and frowned at it.

"No kidding?" Seth teased. With the patience of a tribe elder, he showed me how to mix just enough water into the sand to make the grains stick together, but not so much that it became a soupy, useless mess. Next, he gave me one of Claire's sand buckets, in the shape of a turret, and instructed me to pack it with sand.

After maybe ten minutes, my sandcastle - just the one turret made by the bucket - stopped falling down, and I looked at Seth's, only to find he'd made an entire castle now, and only by hand.

When he saw my expression, he laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "I practically grew up on the beach, so I've had lots of practice. Here, if you just rinse the bucket out, I'll show you..."

"Bye!" Nessie and I waved one last time to the figures down on the beach, silhouetted by the setting sun.

With a small sigh, Nessie leaned her seat back and closed her eyes, while I pulled out of the beach parking lot and turned towards home.

"Tired?" I asked.

"Sleepy," Nessie shrugged.

"And, the difference is...?"

"Nothing, really."

I rolled my eyes. "Jacob's annoying nature is rubbing off on you."

She just snorted in reply, and things were silent from then on, until the soft sound of half-snores came from Nessie's side of the car.

With a small smile, I glanced over at her...and the blur charging towards the car.

I had absolutely no time to even cry out a warning to Nessie when the blur hit the side of the car, forcing it to the other side of the road, where the tires caught. I had just enough sense to somehow escape my buckle, throw myself over Nessie, and cover my head before the car started to roll.

Over the crunching and screaming of metal, I was aware of two other noises; my cries of fear, and Nessie's. Where she was held into the car by her belt, the only thing keeping me from flying out was my death grip on her, and, with every flip, the pain made me loosen my grip a little more.

When the car finally shuddered to a stop, five rolls later, it was upside down, and I let go of Nessie, touching the ground and shards of glass with a soft cry. Meanwhile, Nessie was upside down, and I rolled out of the way in time for her to get loose from her seat belt.

"Angel?" she croaked.

I was too much in pain to answer; just a quick assessment led me to believe that I had at least two broken ribs, a deep gash on my forehead, a deeper gash on my right forearm, and other little cuts from glass pretty much everywhere, with shards of or powdered glass ground into them.

Never had I been so grateful for the leather jacket padded on the back that I'd gotten from Jasper two years ago, after taking a tumble from Seth's motorcycle and fracturing a bone in my left wing.

"Angel?" she asked again. "Are you okay?"

"No," I gasped. "Not really. You?"

"Okay. Why...why'd you jump on top of me like that? My skin's pretty much as strong as Mom's, or Dad's, or Uncle Jaz, or, or..." she had crawled over to me as she babbled, and helped me into a sitting position, where I leaned against her shoulder, overcome by dizziness.

"Just...an instinct. Sorry. What...what on Earth hit us?" I asked in reply.

She might have been opening her mouth to reply, but at that exact moment, the car flipped over us, flying a few hundred yards before it hit the tree with a monumental crash.

At the same time, our heads turned to see two figures in robes as black as night, both with hoods up. As one, they reached back and threw back their hoods.

"Felix!" Nessie gasped. "Angel, that's..." but the brunette quickly realized that I had no interest in this enemy of the past, for my eyes were focused on the slimmer figure to the left of the bulky vampire.

A small, agonized groan fell from my lips.

"_Fang_."


End file.
